So Bud Peterson is aware of the recruiting challenges...what's he doing to help work around them is the question?
Also he's on the record boasting Tech's unique differences compare to other research based schools...D1 sports! So what are we doing to stay relevant?
Here's an excerpt from a recent comprehensive article on GT that I extracted on athletics:
Percy: Would you talk about the role of athletics at Tech? Surely that has some challenges.
Peterson: I often say athletics is the lens through which people view an institution, and that’s true at Georgia Tech. We have a very good balance between athletics and academics. What makes it challenging is that we don’t have a single degree that doesn’t require two semesters of calculus, two laboratory science courses, computer science. We need to recruit student athletes who are strong academically, and we are able to do that. Our six-year graduation rate overall for the student body is 83 percent; for student athletes, it’s 79 percent. In the football program, our average GPA for student athletes is over a 3.0, right at the average for the overall student body.
Percy: Do you find the athletic piece difficult?
Peterson: I think I’m fortunate to have some experiences that have helped me understand that challenge. I actually went to college on a football scholarship and earned degrees in math and engineering at the same time. There is a balance, and I think we’re in a good place with respect to that balance. It’s a big part of the culture here.
Percy: It also makes Tech unique.
Peterson: Of the leading technology research institutes in this country – MIT, Cal Tech, Carnegie-Mellon and Georgia Tech – we are the only one of those four that competes in Division I athletics.
Also he's on the record boasting Tech's unique differences compare to other research based schools...D1 sports! So what are we doing to stay relevant?
Here's an excerpt from a recent comprehensive article on GT that I extracted on athletics:
Percy: Would you talk about the role of athletics at Tech? Surely that has some challenges.
Peterson: I often say athletics is the lens through which people view an institution, and that’s true at Georgia Tech. We have a very good balance between athletics and academics. What makes it challenging is that we don’t have a single degree that doesn’t require two semesters of calculus, two laboratory science courses, computer science. We need to recruit student athletes who are strong academically, and we are able to do that. Our six-year graduation rate overall for the student body is 83 percent; for student athletes, it’s 79 percent. In the football program, our average GPA for student athletes is over a 3.0, right at the average for the overall student body.
Percy: Do you find the athletic piece difficult?
Peterson: I think I’m fortunate to have some experiences that have helped me understand that challenge. I actually went to college on a football scholarship and earned degrees in math and engineering at the same time. There is a balance, and I think we’re in a good place with respect to that balance. It’s a big part of the culture here.
Percy: It also makes Tech unique.
Peterson: Of the leading technology research institutes in this country – MIT, Cal Tech, Carnegie-Mellon and Georgia Tech – we are the only one of those four that competes in Division I athletics.
